Married 10 Months!

9 Months of Marriage!

I LOVE MY BOY!

Russell took me out to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner to celebrate the special occasion, and afterwards we went shopping and he bought me my birthday present...which I am SO excited about!!! (squeal) I am blessed! It's the best thing in the world to spend time with your favoritest person ever.

Our First Christmas!

This adorable ornament, in keeping with our Precious Moments tradition, was Russell's gift to me for Christmas.

Christmas morning and breakfast has always been my favorite time of the day. I made the same food my mom has made for years, which helped my homesickness a little bit.

And there is the "Baal bush." Lol. I love the little candy cane dolls Lydia got me...was it last year?

My daddy bought me this Nativity set for Christmas. I love the country look! It's very similar to the Nativity set I grew up with.

"Joy to the world"

"Wise men still seek Him"

"Jesus is the reason for the season"

And here are some of the decorations around the house....

We mostly spent the day relaxing. I took a nap, which is very unusual for me, because I wasn't feeling well, and the rest of the evening I wrapped up in my new pink bathrobe from Russell's grandma; what a nice gift! We ate good food, talked with my family for a little bit, played a few games, watched a movie, went to visit Russell's mom in the hospital, and that was pretty much our 1st Christmas together.

Christmas dinner was yummy!

I got Russell these ornaments for Christmas, because he is really into basketball. I also got him the Monopoly Deal game, and the Novacom Adventures in Odyssey series.

You know you're living in the age of technology when your husband pulls up a picture of a sprig of mistletoe on his phone and hangs it over your head while he kisses you. We don't agree with the Patch the Pirate song which says "I hate mistletoe..."! =D

I really missed my family on Christmas Day.

But it looks like another chick will soon fly the coop and create yet another branch in the family tree, since Clay and Lydia have started courting. Hurray!

Congratulations, you two lovebirds!

And that was our 1st Christmas together...

Christmas Letter 2010

Dear family and friends,

How can it be that this year is about to come to a close already? 2010 just flew by! This has truly been a year of monumental change, so let me start out with the highlights.

The Wedding

Russell and I just celebrated 8 months of glorious marriage. I can hardly believe our April 17th wedding will soon be something that happened a year ago. I wish time would slow down a little, but my grandma has always told me that it only goes faster as one gets older. Marriage was the first institution created by God, and if I do say so myself, it's the best thing He designed for the human race to enjoy…right up there with salvation. I'm understanding more and more every day the symbolism of God's salvation in the marriage relationship. They say love is blind, and it must be so, because Russell just continues to love me, even though he knows how unloveable I can be at times. It's the same with God. He knows all my faults, my sin and shortcomings, and He still loves me and forgives me, knowing what a wretch I am. If I was God I wouldn't put up with me, but He does, so I'm glad He is God and I am not! I'm thankful for the Lord's unconditional love…the love that caused God to send His only Son into the world of hateful mankind to sacrifice His life and save lost sinners.

Boys Home Battle

As many of you know, about 7 weeks after our happy union we encountered a huge and not-so-nice surprise. My father-in-law was the founder and director of Heritage Boys Academy, which has been in existence for about 15 years. After years of positive DCF (Department of Children and Families) investigations, the local authorities decided that with-or-without evidence of abuse, etc., they were shutting the Academy down. On June 4th the home was ruthlessly raided, the boys were interrogated, and then driven off in buses never to be seen again. It was a huge shock for Russell's family and all the employees. I just think about my dad's ministry, which was started basically around the same time as my father-in-law's, and how I would feel if the ministry he poured years into was destroyed in just one day. Bro. Buddy, Bro. Rob (the assistant director), and my husband spent that night in jail as their character was slandered over local TV and in the newspapers for days afterwards. Unfortunately the media isn't too concerned about the accuracy of their information and only proclaim what they think is truth…or what they want to be true. The truth of that sad day is that God used the evil schemes of a few gangsters within the academy to shut it down, because He wanted it shut down. We know that nothing happens without the approval of Almighty God, and everything He does is for a purpose and for His ultimate glory. We have the sweet comfort of God's promises… "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) "The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all." (Psalm 103:19) So pretty much right from the start of our marriage we've experienced things that your average newly-wedded couple never dreams of having to deal with. Sometimes I struggle with feelings of regret, because in some ways we were robbed of the care-freeness that should accompany the first months of marriage. I'm not going to lie and say it's been easy, because there have been times when it's been very, very hard. But God has a way of showing Himself in a more impressive way when His children are standing in the face of hardship, and He has certainly done so for us.

Starting Over

For two months Russell was without work and, despite the fact that he filled out job applications all over town, he wasn't able to obtain a job because of the impending charges on his record. By the beginning of August we were really needing an income again, and it was at that time that God provided Russell with a job. Donald Adams, the Christian owner of two Chick-fil-a restaurants in town, was made aware of our situation and offered Russell a position at his drive-thru restaurant. Russell has been working there for close to 5 months now and is doing an excellent job. I'm so proud of him! He wasn't supposed to get a raise until he completed his first 3 months, but within one month's time he got a raise. Then a month later he got another raise to work the odd-hour shift so his great attitude would cheer the other workers and raise the score. (Attitude is everything in the fast-food business.) With me being so far away from my family and being alone for a good chunk of the day and evening, which I still don't enjoy but am trying to get used to, I was having a hard time with Russell's new hours. Well, it so happened that a girl got fired and Russell was put right back in his 6:30am-2:30pm shift but STILL received his raise to work the odd-hours. Then Donald gave him another raise "just because." To top it off, Chick-fil-a has a great program which rewards good employees with a $50 bonus whenever a satisfied customer writes in to the Chick-fil-a Cares Corporation using the name of the employee who helped them. Russell has received several bonuses because of his name being mentioned as being a great worker; his managers have told him that that hasn't happened so many times to one employee in a year's time, let alone in just a few months. The Lord has been exceedingly good to us! We want to thank you, dear friends, for helping us through a rough time. On several occasions during Russell's time of unemployment (and even after that, because of my increasing medical bills) there were times when I didn't know how I was going to put a decent meal on the table, and just when I was starting to wonder if I should panic, a gift card for groceries arrived in the mail. The Lord, through you, has provided for our needs EVERY TIME, JUST IN TIME. Thank you!!!

Little Miracles

Perhaps you have heard stories of "angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2 mentions this: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." There are times in life when you feel so desperate that believing just isn't enough…and a little miracle is necessary to carry you through. Let me share our miracle…

Russell was working at Chick-fil-a one day in September when an older couple walked up to the walk-up window and ordered 2 milkshakes. Russell took their order, and suddenly in the back of the store one of the workers cussed, using the name of Jesus Christ in their anger. Russell called back "Hey, it isn't His fault!" The older woman who had just ordered a milkshake exclaimed to Russell, "You are a Christian." He responded that he is, and she replied, "I thought so. In fact, the Lord told me to tell you something, but I refrained myself because I wasn't sure." Russell asked her what the Lord said to her. She responded, "He told me to tell you that 'Everything is going to be okay.' I hope that is a blessing to you." Russell thanked her and said it was. Well, after they got their milkshakes the elderly couple walked away hand-in-hand. Russell's manager, John, commented on the couple holding hands and said it would make a nice postcard or something. Russell took out his phone to snap a picture. The process of doing so takes less than a second, but when Russell looked up to take the picture he didn't see the older couple anywhere. They were walking much too slowly to have rounded the corner of the nearest building, and there was nowhere else for them to go. Russell asked his coworkers if they saw where they went. They, too, looked around for the couple, but nobody saw them anywhere. They just…vanished!

Makes me wonder if perhaps vanilla is angels' favorite flavor. =)

But the story doesn't end there…

That same night Russell's father was working at the bridge. There is a mental assylum close by, and a slightly demented black lady often walks the bridge and passes the building where my father-in-law works the controls to open the bridge for boats. That night this lady came to Bro. Buddy and wanted a dollar from him, because she was thirsty and wanted a drink. Bro. Buddy gave her a dollar and the woman turned to walk away. Suddenly she stopped and turned around and with unusual clarity in her eyes and speech she said, "Everything is gonna to to be okay." She then turned around and walked off, and I believe she has never spoken to Bro. Buddy in such a way since. It's like the Spirit of God---the same one who once, long ago, allowed a dumb old donkey to speak---whispered in that disturbed woman's ear to comfort the preacher with the same words of two elderly folk ordering a Chick-fil-a milkshake. "Everything is going to be okay."

Maybe you think that seems like a strange thing to take as a miracle, but don't forget 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence."

I'm studying on that last phrase of the verse: "…That no flesh should glory in His presence." See, if it makes sense to our human flesh---to our earthly body and mind---then it probably isn't of God, because God is spirit and spiritual…and He works out of the ordinary, confounding all senses of what we "know" to be factual and capable of occurring, just to show us how great and powerful He is!

I'm reminded of…

1. The Foolish (Impossible) things of the world - That a virgin conceived without knowing a man.

2. The Weak things of the world - That Mighty God appeared to mankind in the weakest, most helpless form possible---that of a mere infant…a babe who could not survive without a young mother to hold, feed, and change it. The picture of weakness is that the Creator should entrust His livelihood to one whom He created. God, who needs nothing and is dependent on no man, allowed Himself to be frail enough to need.

3. The Base things of the world - That a young girl conceived a baby out of wedlock---a fact that should have gotten her shunned from all who knew her and stoned to death according to the laws at that period of time in history. The Pharisees considered Jesus base, which is evident here: "…Then said they [the Pharisees] to him [Jesus], We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." (John 8:41)

4. The Despised things of the world - That Eternal God descended to mortal man…from a magnificent mansion to a simple stable…from a throne of gold to a crib of hay…from angel's adoration to the lowing of cattle…from the realms of praise, perfection, and joy to a world of hatred, sickness, and death.

Jesus stooped to our level so He could raise us up to His.

He became the despised and rejected, dying on the cruel cross of shame,

so we could become loved and accepted, living eternally, once forgiven of sin.

This is the reason Jesus came.

Jesus made the way to Heaven,

because He IS The Way to Heaven.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. - John 3:17

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. - John 3:18

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. -John 3:19

Our prayer is that the Light of Christ's salvation dwells in your heart, because without LIGHT, CHRISTmas has no meaning at all.

Merry Christmas and a blessed 2011!

With much love,

Russell & Hannah Maynard

The Cutest Tale of Jonah and the Whale

This little girl is adorable. I had a hard day yesterday and this video made me laugh again. Hope you enjoy it! Watch it full-screen.

8 Happy Months!

SOMETHING I SAW YESTERDAY

- by Bob Lonsberry © 2010

As I ran up to him, the first thing I noticed was the Bible.

It was small, a pocket-sized book, in black leather.

It had apparently been knocked out of his clothing when the car hit him, and had landed beside him in the snow, down off the shoulder of the road.

That was yesterday, a few minutes after 7 in the morning.

It was frigid and there was accumulation and black ice and two cars had slid off the busy Interstate. He had stopped and gotten out to help.

He had been on the way to work, with his son, and he saw the motorists who needed help and he stopped. Countless others of us drove on by. But he stopped.

And got out in the blizzard and was going to render aid when out of nowhere came a vehicle.

He was struck and thrown and he landed where I found him, motionless in the snow, by his Bible.

There was a young man standing above him. A nurse from Strong Memorial Hospital was also there, and maybe another man, motorists who had stopped to render aid.

I knelt by the man in the snow. I could find no pulse in his right wrist. The nurse could find no pulse in his left wrist. She felt at his neck and I counted his breaths.

They were the breaths of someone struggling to stay alive. It was as if he was snoring.

I asked the young man what had happened and he told me that the man was his father.

He looked to be in his late teens or early 20s. He was well groomed and in business clothes. And his father was at his feet. It struck me what a horror he must be enduring. I asked him if he would pray for us, and he squatted beside his father and we three bowed our heads as he prayed and said “Amen” when he was done.

The exact details of what followed are kind of blurred in my mind, but a lady called 911 on her cell phone and I asked her if I could speak to the dispatcher. I tried to describe the gravity of the man’s condition and I told her we’d need Mercy Flight. It was a foolish request, given the conditions, and she kindly told me that they couldn’t launch in the blizzard. Then I told her that we’d need the county fly car and she told me that it was on its way.

He had a jacket on with the name of his company on it. The ID tag clipped to his shirt said that his name was Ken. Though he was unresponsive, I talked to him and called him by name and encouraged him and told him what was happening.

Traffic was heavy and slow and I kept looking up from the man to see if I could see any emergency vehicles coming.

The first to arrive was a captain from the Department of Environmental Conservation police. His presence was calming and professional. He and the Strong nurse checked the various occupants of the various cars to make sure everyone was all right.

A man from a utility – maybe the electric company or the phone company – came to offer aid.

As the minutes passed, various passersby brought coats and blankets from their cars to lay over the man. One gentleman took the coat off his back and covered the man with it. Then he took off his gloves and put them over the man’s hands.

At a certain point, the man’s wife arrived. She had been called by the son and, their home apparently being close, had arrived quickly.

“Where is he?” I heard her say. “He is my husband.”

I looked up when I heard those words, and saw a woman walking toward us. I was dreading her arrival. I did not want her to see or experience this. I could not imagine the pain and sorrow inherent in a situation like this.

She was dressed as conservative Christian women sometimes are, in a long dress, it might have been denim, and I think her hair was long and up on her head.

As she approached us, she was calm and business like. She asked how he was and what had happened.

Then she knelt and began to pray.

She may have held his hand, she may have leaned in toward his head. As she spoke, I cast my eyes down and reverently listened. She addressed God. Whether she called him “Dear Lord” or “Heavenly Father” or something else, I can’t recall. But she addressed him, and then she thanked him.

And she offered him praise.

Her words were not words of pleading, they were words of praise and gratitude.

And then she said something like, “If today you wish to call him home and take him from us – thy will be done.”

Thy will be done.

The line from the Lord’s Prayer. The hardest part of faith. At a moment when most of us would be begging God to give us what we want – to spare us our loved one – she asked the Lord to do his will, what he wanted. She trusted him, and had faith in him.

Where could there be a truer test or demonstration of faith than in the snow beside the broken and near lifeless body of your sweetheart and spouse? In that situation, there can be no pretense, no show, only the heartfelt honesty of a soul in direct communion with its Creator.

And in her moment of test, in her own Gethsemane, she literally prayed, like here Savior before her, not my will, but thine, be done.

But if it was not his time to die, if the Lord did not want to call him home, she asked for his life, for her and their children, and strength through the weeks of hospitalization and recovery.

And then she asked that this event would be turned to the glory of God, that somehow it could touch the heart of someone, that someone might find Jesus, that someone might come to salvation.

And that was her prayer.

While I listened for this man’s breaths, and rescuers sped on slippery roads, and neighbor helped neighbor.

Soon I saw a deputy and a trooper, and then a fire truck in the far lanes, and then firefighters around us and finally an ambulance.

They were angels in turnout gear.

They came with such a competence and earnestness.

One medic, a younger man, had an Avon patch on his uniform. He quickly worked to help the man breathe. Another medic, slightly older, had a Livonia patch on his uniform. He worked on the man’s body. Another medic soon came, directly from home, in office clothes, and with the help of the firemen the three of them loaded the man first onto a backboard and then onto a gurney and up into the Avon ambulance.

In a minor and unskilled way, they needed an extra set of hands, so I climbed into the ambulance with them as the doors closed and the rig pulled out.

It may have taken most of an hour to get to Strong Memorial Hospital. We stopped at one point to pick up the Livingston County paramedic. He was a stunningly professional man, and watching him and the others work was like seeing a nuts-and-bolts miracle.

It was high science and true compassion, a moment-by-moment tending of an injured man’s needs. Each medic attending to different tasks or coming together to achieve one. Like a choreographed dance or a loose symphony. I was grateful such people and such technology exist.

In his own way, the ambulance driver performed his own miracles. In stalled bumper-to-bumper traffic, over miles and miles of snowy highway, he pressed forward, moving between and around any obstacles that presented themselves, using his resourcefulness to get the patient where he needed to go.

In the back of the rig, I noticed in the pocket of the man’s shirt six or seven little tracts, religious pamphlets, about the true meaning of Christmas. The sort of thing that religious people pass out inviting others to get saved. As they pulled the gurney out of the rig at the Strong ED, the tracts fell to the floor of the ambulance, wet from the melting snow and stained with the man’s blood.

Later, I would recount this story on the radio, and receive e-mails from coworkers and church members. People who knew him and loved him.

He always carried the Bible and the tracts, they said. And he was the nicest guy they knew. He would do anything for anybody and he and his wife had eight children.

And for the past three years, he and his sons had built with their own hands a house for the family. A house for which they had only recently been granted a certificate of occupancy – a permit for the family to move in and begin its dream life.

He was a good man, doing a good thing, and that didn’t surprise anybody. He came to be hurt because he came to the rescue.

When I went to bed last night, his condition was very grave and prayer requests were echoing across the Internet.

And I couldn’t help but think of the verse from the Gospel of John.

“Greater love hath no man than this,” it reads, “that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

That happened on a cross once, and on battlefields countless times, and sometimes it happens on the side of the road.

I saw something sacred yesterday, and I hope I have communicated it adequately.

I hope I have done my part to help answer a good woman's prayer.

- by Bob Lonsberry © 2010

_________________________________________________________

This morning at 7:20am Kenneth Parfitt went home to be with the Lord.

Please keep this family in prayer.

O Holy Night!

Happy December 11th!

I've been really busy and it looks like the whole month is going to be hectic, so that's my reason for not publishing a song every day like I had planned. I'm not even going to try to catch up this time, but I wanted to share this amazing performance with you. It's beautiful!!!

Getting Ready For Christmas...

12-7-2010

For some reason it's always been a tradition in my family's house that we don't decorate for Christmas until after Josiah's birthday, which is Dec. 6th. Without meaning to, Russell and I did the same thing for our first Christmas.

LOWE'S had nice trees for a good price. After checking out a few others we ended up getting the first tree I pointed out. Why is it usually like that? Only in Florida do you go tree shopping wearing sunglasses with a Tropical Smoothie shake. =D

It's been fun decorating for this season, but it's been hard too. My Christmas ornaments were the only thing from home that I hadn't touched, and somehow it seems like I've just cut the final cord linking me to home. All my stuff is here, all my stuff is out, and it's final----I really will never be a part of my family again. I miss everything familiar at this time of year: the same old ornaments we've put out for years, the sounds--talking, laughter, or singing---of someone other than myself in the house, Mom and Lydia's companionship in the kitchen, the aroma of baking cookies we made together, and the old Christmas tunes we've listened to every year since I can remember.

After I got through the initial dread, I realized it was very nice to see my Christmas things again.

This is the first year that I've been able to hang most of my balls, seeing as I never had my own Christmas tree before. I was surprised to find that in all the collecting I've done over the years, the color scheme of my ornaments is mainly maroon, red, pink, gold, and white. Perfect! Even my angel-topper matches!

And as I unpacked the ornaments, Russell got the tree ready outside on the porch...pretty, pretty!

And once I got decorated it looked even prettier...

12-9-2010

Russell was exhausted after getting home from work, so I decorated the tree by myself. One thing I'm still not used to is being alone so much, so it was still nice to have him with me...even if he was sleeping. =)

The Christmas Parade

12-4-2010

Our church entered the Christmas parade last Saturday. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.

I love this time of year!

Everyone really outdid themselves putting this together.

JESUS is the only reason for the season. Jesus...God, who became frail, human flesh, appearing in the form of a helpless babe, in order to save Adam's race from sin, death, and hell.

JESUS.

I love Christmas lights! So pretty!

Russell and I were part of the gingerbread choir singing Christmas carols.

Clay played live on the piano. He did awesome, as always, and Russell was his faithful side-kick.

After the parade was over some of us went out to McDonald's for a late snack.

There I am outnumbered by guys (what's new?).

We had a lot of fun and hopefully the Lord used us to remind folks what Christmas is truly all about.

Remembering Christmases Past (2007) II

Happy December 6th!



I have to say I've shed a few tears as I watched these pictures of past Christmases flash before my eyes. People I love have come and gone, moved away, changed, gotten older, and some have died. A lot of water has gone under the bridge. Now we're even more spread out than we were, and I sometimes wonder where Lydia and Josiah will be living once they are married. I wish life could stay the same, but I know it can't. Looking back on the years, one thing has always stayed the same----through it all, the Lord has always been good...I believe to see the goodness of the Lord in future.

Remembering Christmases Past I

Happy December 5th!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Happy December 4th!

Silent Night

Happy December 3rd!

Christmas Song

Happy December 2nd!

I grew up listening to this song during the Christmas season. Years ago it was recorded onto a cassette tape from my Papa and Oma's old records, and now Josiah is trying to put it on CD to send me for my own Christmas collection. It's one of those songs that brings me back home on a crisp winter evening with the wind and sleet howling against the windows, meanwhile my family is gathered in our cozy, warm living room. All around the room candles flicker, the tree is lit with lots of colorful lights, and the happy voices of my loved ones drifts through the house, all the way up to the attic where Mom and Dad sleep.

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

I'm going to start posting a Christmas song every day until Christmas!

Happy December 1st!

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

More Decor

Our house has experienced a few more changes lately. I LOVE it! It's really feeling homey.

Te colorful, prize-winning cross-stitch has its place by the front door.

Russell's Grandma gave me the miniature heart shelf, Lyd bought me the candle, Annika gave me the shells, Naomi gave me the cross-stitch, I made it, and Mom gave me the frame. I just love seeing it every time I enter or exit the house. I have so many dear friends!

When Mom and Lydia came in September they bought us 2 early Christmas presents. This little stool is a nice place to sit while putting on our shoes and is handy for storing my shoes as well, since our walk-in area is quite tiny.

Last week I went shopping at Old Time Pottery with Russell's Grandma, her sister, and his Aunt Tricia + her kids. I was excited to find this coat rack. The weather has cooled down and we are wearing jackets now, so I needed to find something so we could hang them by the door. I wanted something with a shelf and was so happy to find this shelf with hooks for a good price compared to anything I was looking at online. It has a slightly rustic look, which I love, of course, with my flare for country decor. =)

During the weekend I got some great deals at Jo~Ann's (I love that store!!!), this 'M' wood cutout being one of them. I painted it yesterday and then spattered it with cream paint and sanded the edges to give it an antique look. What do you think?

This Joshua 24:15 sign is the other present from my parents. I love that verse!

And we do...and we will!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Russell and I enjoyed a quiet morning together. You probably recognize "The Boss" cup. I love the little honey bears; they remind me of Papa. I have recently come to enjoy a hot cup of coffee on occasion. *1/4 teaspoon NesCafe instant coffee, 1/4 teaspoon fructose, and maybe 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream. Hmm. Delicious!*

After breakfast we carried on a tradition I started just a few years before I left home. Using the alphabet, we made a list of the things we are thankful for. A few of the things I am truly grateful for are Airplanes, Email, and Skype so I can keep in touch with my family. As we enter this holiday season I miss them more and more. Sometimes it seems like so long ago since I was with them that it's almost like it was another girl another lifetime ago.

As I was cooking I noticed this little intruding, wanna-be Thanksgiving guest. He has been living in Russell's office for about a week now. I've made several attempts to return him to the great outdoors and, surprisingly, I actually succeeded today. I turned around several minutes later and found him making his way back into my house! I guess he smelled the food and wanted in on it. =D

Russell's parents are in Ohio with Bro. Buddy's family. They had planned on taking Russell's brothers and Rob with them, but the boys all recently obtained jobs and couldn't go along. Big Daddy, Russell's grandpa, was going to take Russell's Aunt Tricia + her kids, his brothers, and us out to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving dinner to make things easy, since all the extended family had other plans this year. Eating out at a restaurant on Thanksgiving day isn't my idea of cozy, so I volunteered to do a majority of the cooking so Grandma wouldn't have to. I was very excited when the plans worked out that way. I love cooking! (Just not cleaning up behind myself. =) So, we had a small get-together on the property with some of Russell's family and a family from church.

Okay, it's a blurry picture, but my hubby still looks cute! This is our first Thanksgiving being married. I wanted it to be special, and it was. I think every couple wants to start new traditions of their own when first embarking on a life's journey together...and we did.

With all the food I made and the additional dishes Aunt Tricia, Grandma, and Mrs. Cherene brought, we had more than enough food. Clay's turkey was excellent--moist and tasty!

The food was yummy and the fellowship was...uh, enlightening, considering I sat with Russell at the table with all the single guys, if that says anything. In many ways I live in a man's world. It's interesting being the only girl in the family, especially with my mother-in-law gone. I get to play "mommy" with Aaron and make sure he eats his veggies. =D

Creamed onion casserole must be a Yankee thing or something. Nobody knew what it was but they liked it well enough. I tried a new recipe and will definitely make it again.

I love butternut squash! We can't get it in Holland, so I had fun experimenting with it this Thanksgiving. Silky Squash--It turned out really good.

I got to spend several hours of the afternoon talking with my family!

God is good!